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[Chapter 8] Night runs (Mordechai / invite)
Posted: 18 May 2019, 17:55
by Zodiac
Every third night she had heard the sounds since she had taken her sabbatical on her farm property. The low rumble of machinery moving about in darkness. She had not given it much thought. It was spring and it made sense farmers in the area were breaking out their equipment to either plow and maintain the fields or have such machines ready for the harvest, so she’d simply shrug and go back to what she was doing. She had deeper mysteries to plumb than wondering whose tractor was making the most noise.
But this night was simply too pleasant to sit inside. 3 AM found her sitting on the porch of her farmhouse relaxing. A tranquil night far from the city lights. She basked under a blanket of stars. Occasionally sipping from a wine glass or taking a pull from a hookah she had set up on the table. The soft night sounds a balm to her senses. Surrounded in such tranquility, she almost felt alive again. She made a mental note to get her telescope out of storage and do some proper stargazing soon.
So when she hear the now familiar sound, she just sat in her chair and relaxed. It had almost become part of the nocturnal choirs in this area. Then she saw the lights. In reflex, she sat perfectly still and willed herself into shadows and watched as the lights progressed along the road that passed her place and eventually lead into town. She saw two trucks. Large ones. They reminded her of the ones the soldiers used to move troops in. As she looked closer, she saw two men in each cab and as they passed she saw men in the backs of them. They were not dressed as the soldiers in town, but she could swear they were armed. They were in no hurry. Just lumbering along. Almost as if trying to mimic the noises tractors or combines would make on these dirt roads. She sat and watched till the pair crested the small hill and were out of sight to the South.
”How curious,” she thought when she finally stood up. Where were they going was a valid question, but where had they come from more so. As far as she knew, this section of farming area was blocked off by the forest. They had to come in to go out and from the local chatter she had gathered from the neighbors, no one had mentioned anything like that.
She went inside and changed and began to walk up the road where the trucks had come from. She saw no clues of heavy equipment entering the road among the other farms she passed along the way. The farms past where her own place and her child’s were was straight up farms. A lot of noise came from them at planting and harvest time but not like this or with those kind of vehicles.
She finally reached the point where the road went East and West. Across from her, the forest boundary. ”Now what?’ The girl dug into her pocket and flipped a coin before going West. After a mile she turned back to the East. Eventually she found some broken branches in the road. Besides the forest, she saw a dead fall of limbs, while across the road was nothing but a field. As she approached she saw a hint of tire tracks emerging from the dead fall.
Not wanting to risk a fae attack, but curious beyond measure overcame caution. She began to levitate as she ‘walked up’ the fallen limbs. Since her actual body weight did not touch the wood, she scaled the otherwise problematic confusion of limbs with ease. Once she reached the top she stepped over and drifted back down to earth. Part of the dead fall was legit, but a large section had been wired together as a door of some sort. Something several men could move in or out of place quite easily. She could see the hints of tire tracks running back into the deep woods. A door large enough to be moved and allow trucks like she has seen to enter the farm area.
She crossed back to the safety of the road once she had finished. The trail obviously lead to another road outside of town. A simple and effective way to bypass the military checkpoints. Depending on how far this hidden road went, a lot of work went into it. This much work and effort had to equal a payoff that made it all worth it.
As she began to walk back home she recalled that nonsense the (so called) ‘Administrator’ (May the lords of Hell **** fire upon him eternal) and his snappy talk about charity fraud and weapons (or other things) being brought into the town. It was their duty (Not his, of course) to try and figure it out and, of course, report back to him so he could take the credit for ‘saving them all’.
”He has to be vampire,” she thought as she walked along. ”Only a vamp could have a hyper inflated ego like that.”
She wondered what to do with this small gem she had discovered by accident. Helping the ‘Admin’ was not even on the list. As she saw things, he failed them too many times to be trusted, but this was a potential gift as well. Whatever they were bringing in had to be of value. Value that a clever girl to use for her economic situations or perhaps Christmas presents for her friends. She had tried to be selfless too many times before, so perhaps it was time to look after own her own potential benefits. Firepower? Drugs? Black market goodies? She had her own connections to turn all of that into folding money.
She let the idea slip to the back of her mind as she stepped onto her porch. What to do now? Nothing, but three nights from now there would be a snow owl perched in the tree where the dead fall gate was.
To follow them.
Tomorrow night, she would see where the home made road went to. She also needed to make a call.
[sabotage_admin][/sabotage_admin]
Re: [Chapter 8] Night runs (Mordechai / invite)
Posted: 06 Jul 2019, 16:26
by Zodiac
The following evening just as the sun was setting, she sat with her phone and typed.
Hello, brother.
I discovered a secret road leading into the farm area where I have a home. Every 3 nights for the past couple weeks trucks have been using it to enter the area and slip into town unnoticed, If you have seen or noticed anything out of the ordinary along these lines, get back to me. I am going to check the road this evening, then be prepared to follow them 2 nights from now.
Have missed you,
Sis.
She hesitated to press the send button. She had not heard from her ‘sibling’ for almost a year. It wasn’t unusual for time to go by between talks, but this last stretch of silence suggested he too was growing more reclusive. She could not blame him. He had, perhaps, had his fill of local nonsense as well so perhaps slumber was the best option for him? Her mind could touch his easy enough, but until she was sure she would respect his privacy.
She’d never had given up on him just as he never gave up on her. At the time she was first turned, she had been considered something of a joke but Mordechai never treated her that way. Always a word of encouragement. Yes, word. Sometimes he was not that talkative and in a way she became a type of project for him she guessed. It took her longer to get the hang of having fangs than he did, but once she got her feet under her she learned to run with it. Mordechai’s ‘training’ was more directed at the physical. Her size and speed made her a hard target to hit so his suggestions helped her capitalize on that fact. She grew slowly. Far slower that the mystic part of her did. Even now she had not hit the goals he had suggested she needed, but she didn’t fall in a fight as easily as some would assume. In time, the pair of them worked together on several projects with success. Between his muscle and firepower and her powers and rituals, they could put a serious hurt on others.
But that was then and this was now. Would he still have an interest or would he be angry she bothered him. She wasn’t sure. She saved the message and once the sun had vanished she went out to the barn. She checked the repaired and reinforced walls (a necessity since zombies were now appearing everywhere) then unlocked the door and pulled the door open.
Dmitri snorted his greeting before the lights came on. Too much love and patience went into him to allow him to become zombie chow, hence the extra protection. ”Hello, love.” she smiled as she prepared to saddle him. She did not want to waste her energy with powers on this little trip unless she had to. The horse needed little encouragement to run like the wind so she would be quite mobile if needed.
”… I've had enough of scheming, and messing around with jerks,
my car is parked outside, I'm afraid it doesn't work,
I'm looking for a partner. someone who gets things fixed,
Ask yourself this question, do you want to be rich?…”
She sang to herself as she got him ready for a ride. To Dmitri, being rich meant finding a full, unguarded apple barrel. His nose zeroed in on the saddle bag she had that held some.
”You get one now and more later.” she gently whispered as she continued. Once she had finished she gave the horse one, then led him out of the barn. ”Slow and steady-for now.” she told the animal as she settled in the saddle. Zodiac wanted his speed in case they had to make a run for it. She had no clue what lurked at the end of the hidden road she had discovered and would take no chances. Plus, Dmitri could walk faster than she could. Her slight weight was nothing to him to carry. Once he had finished the apple, she nudged him into motion.
“You can see I'm single-minded, I know what I could be,
How'd you feel about it, come take a walk with me,
I'm looking for a partner, regardless of expense,
Think about it seriously, you know it makes sense.”
Zodiac sang softly as the pair made their way to where she had found the hidden gate. If her singing annoyed Dmitri, he did not show it. Despite the situation at hand, she felt relaxed. A nice ride always could clear out the cobwebs and make her feel renewed. She knew he enjoyed it as well. Once she gave him permission it was like clinging to the side of a runaway rocket.
In this, they were alike. Both enjoyed their freedom.
It was a simple matter to open the gate, lead him inside, then close it again. She sat on his back and looked up the dimly lit path they were about to follow for a moment. This was just recon and nothing more. If she did find something she would not be stupid enough to charge in all guns blazing. No, she would find Mordie and some others first. In reflex she checked her weapons before giving the horse a nudge to go.
The trail was slightly muddy due to recent rains, which left easy to spy tire tracks here and there. She also took note of the sides of the trail. Trees cut down of trimmed back to form the path. Someone had put a lot of work into this effort. She frowned when she realized Dmitri was leaving his own tracks in the process, but considering how bold the mercs had been there was a chance they would not be inspected the trail for such things. As long as the gates were set back properly all should be good. She just let the horse move at his own pace as they went deeper into the wilderness. She certainly did not want him tripping on a stray root or something. Explain that one to the mercs. She supposed she could teleport him back to the farm if some injury happen.
Zodiac quit singing and jesting to herself as they rode along and focused on the woods on either side. There were more things out here than creepy mercs.
More dangerous things.
It was just under an hour before the opposite end of the path came into view. Zo peeked over to be sure no traffic was coming before opening the gate. Judging by the tire tracks, the trucks had come from the West, so once the gate was closed again, she urged the horse to start walking on the shoulder of the paved road west bound. She reached into her saddle bag and pulled out a flasher which she clipped to the back of her saddle and turned on. Due to Dmitri's black color, she wanted to be sure an approaching car from behind knew there was something ahead. As they moved, she again inspected the area on both sides. Nothing but more wilderness she could see. The road had to be a connection from one place to another and was frequently used since it was in good repair.
After 3-4 miles she came to an intersection. The road she was on crossing a 2 lane highway. No tire tracks to suggest a direction in sight and no signs to suggest what town was close one way or the other. She lit a smoke and jotted down the highway’s ‘name’ to search later when she back on familiar ground. Her on a horse just standing at an intersection was not discreet at all. A car pulled up and tapped it’s horn. The people inside smiling and waving at the pair of them. She waved back and once they passed, she encouraged Dmitri to turn around and head back the way they came.
”Well this was uneventful,” she pouted. She hardly expected to find a sign that said ‘Creepy Mercs’ with an arrow pointing the direction. Her best guess was this was just part of a long trail that started somewhere important and ended up in the farmland. A path that would not attract attention. She could have shifted to her owl form and got a larger view, but what would she do with her horse? Leave him tied to a road sign with a note saying ‘be right back’?
’Damn it,’ She’d have to return on foot. To teleport him and change herself was not an option. Too much magick used and Dmitri would be wandering the pasture and vulnerable to possible zombies. ”Just damn it. You so lucky I love you.”
Dmitri just snorted as he headed East. She checked the time. If she got him back, returned to the gate and then changed, that would help. The return trip was uneventful save for a stray car heading the opposite way.
(to be continued)
[sabotage_admin][/sabotage_admin]
Re: [Chapter 8] Night runs (Mordechai / invite)
Posted: 22 Jul 2019, 15:19
by Zodiac
Once the horse was safely locked back in the barn, the girl made a quick resorting of items she wished to have on her person and stood in the farmyard. She pulled her cell from her pocket and brought up the message she had prepared for her ‘brother’, and added to it.
Hello, brother.
I discovered a secret road leading into the farm area where I have a home. Every 3 nights for the past couple weeks trucks have been using it to enter the area and slip into town unnoticed, If you have seen or noticed anything out of the ordinary along these lines, get back to me. I am going to check the road this evening, then be prepared to follow them 2 nights from now.
Update. I followed the path and it lead to a county road on the other side of the wilderness. Came to an intersection that made exploring on horseback impractical. Am going to ‘wing it’ now and see if I can find where the trucks are coming from.
Get back to me ASAP.
Have missed you.
Sis.
She pressed SEND and slipped the phone back into her pocket. Zodiac focused as a familiar pain washed over her body as it began to shift and change. ”This part totally sucks,” her thoughts complained. In re-birth, as in birth– there is pain. Mercifully, when people are born, the memory of such pain evaporates quickly, but shapeshifting (even constantly) never dulls the edge of the pain, at least to her.
She stood still until she had oriented herself to her new perspective on the world, then spread her wings. Over 5 feet of feathers, bone and muscles lifted the snow owl into the night sky with ease as she began to follow the trail from the air. What had taken her time before now was achieved in a matter of minutes. When she returned to the intersection, she circled the stop sign a few times to mentally mark it. She had gotten lost in the sky a few times in the past, so setting a ‘road sign’ to help her find her way back was a vital precaution.
Once satisfied, she began to gain altitude as she began to circle the area in lazy sweeps. Eyes catching every detail she could. This was still basically a country type area, but one of the 3 roads had to lead somewhere. From her viewpoint, she saw development to the north and turned with ease to investigate. It was typical highway stuff. Gas stations, fast food, a few strip malls. Nothing that screamed secret base to her reckoning of the term. After a few more miles, she slowly turned in a curve that took her back to the west as she rose higher in the air. By covering the area like this, she hoped to find something and she realized she might miss some things in the process but what choice did she have? The road that led to the west was less than the first. A gas stop or two that faded out into homes and farms. She did give a few of the larger barn units a closer look, but nothing.
She banked to the south eventually. If there was nothing there, she would widen her arcs. In this form she did not have to worry about daylight (save for the fact the brightness hurt her eyes now) Her only concern would be energy.
She heard something long before she saw it. She let her ears guide her till lights could be seen. She landed on a telephone pole and looked down at the storage complex that was offset from the main road. A semi was slowly exiting the site and making its way back to the highway. Was it odd that someone was making pick ups or deliveries this time of night? Hardly.
What was odd was that the men who were closing the gates behind the departing truck did not look like any rent-a-cops she had ever seen before. Paramilitary was more like it with rifles hanging on their shoulders. She waited until they retreated from the locked gates the launched into the air to do a lazy glide over the area while following the 2 men. Eventually she landed on top of a security camera that looked down at a second fenced in area within the complex. The 2 men were making their way to the open gate of this new setting. Large roll up doors were open in the side of the building and several pallets sat outside. People were stripping the packages off then and quickly taking them inside. They too were armed. Why so much firepower in a place like this?
Once the gates were closed and locked and the men went to assist the others, she left her perch and began to glide. Nothing fancy to attract attention, just a straight across glide of a bird going from one place to another. The packages were too non descripta to give any clue to their contents on closer view. She drifted over the roof of the warehouse and made her way to the back. She glided past both the inner and outer fences, then turned back to view the rear. Her eyes widened as she saw a small group of trucks parked along the back fence. Quite familiar trucks in her view that resembled the small convoy she had seen. She slowed herself and landed on top of the inner fence.
And all hell broke loose.
The alarm startled her, but she held her place as shouts erupted from the people within. Something was amiss. Someone trying to breach their security was her guess. She watched them swarm and begin to circle about checking the fence line.
Fence line. She looked down at her feet and swore. They had sensors on the fence and she had tripped one. The people swarmed around both ends of the building and were searching frantically about. Again, she held her place and did her best resting owl impression as she started to preen her feathers.
“There’s our ‘intruder’.’ A voice laughed. She kept preening as she saw 3 people had gathered just below where she was perched.
“A bit early for snow owls, isn’t it?” a second asked.
“What? You think they melt then come back in winter like Frosty the Snowman?” a woman’s voice sneered. “They are active all year long.”
“Still, a bit far south considering it is summer.” The second replied.
“Google it if you so damn curious.” The woman snapped.
“What do we got?” a fourth voice spoke up. Zodiac watched the new one approach. His eyes were locked onto her and he held his weapon in his hands.
“An early snowball.” The first answered and the trio laughed, but not the new one. He was studying her closely. Fun was fun, but it was time to vanish. She flapped her wings a few times and got ready to glide off.
“Yes, it looks like a snow owl,” the fourth man said as she launched herself back into the air. “But then again…”
As she glided away, she heard a soft ‘putt’ nose behind her a second before bullets passed within inches of her. ”So much for a subtle exit.” she thought as she began to fly in earnest. The sounds continued and as she crossed over the inner fence to the main area, what would be her left arm suddenly was on fire. It was a grazing wound, but it was throwing her flying off badly. She forced both wings to give her as much height as she could manage.
“There is your clue.” She heard the man’s voice on the ground behind her. “Normal bird would have dropped like a rock in shock, but that one is running for home. Let’s get on top of this, people.”
She sailed across the highway and continued east. Logic told her that east would take her back to the trail she had found or possibly over the farm lands again eventually. Behind her, she heard several vehicles starting up and the sounds of would be owl hunters getting excited. Instinct had her now flying just above the tops of the trees to foil their aim. She wanted distance between her and them before she stopped to heal herself, but the sounds from behind suggested they had no intention of allowing her such a reprise. More sounds of gunfire could be heard. Some of the bullets yards away from her while others were too close for comfort.
(flashback)
The baskets of ill gotten vegetables lay on the ground behind as the trio ran for dear life. All of them experiencing how painful a glancing blow of buckshot felt as they raced to the trees. Behind them, the bellowing voice of the farmer whose crops they had chosen to steal from was laughing.
“All big and bad till something happens, aren’t ya?” he reloaded and pulled the trigger for effect. They were out of range now but the noise still carried authority and threat. “Run, gypsy trash and KEEP RUNNING!”
(end)
Mentally she bit down on her anger and memories. It would not save her here. Just a little more distance was all she needed.
(to be continued)
[sabotage_admin][/sabotage_admin]
Re: [Chapter 8] Night runs (Mordechai / invite)
Posted: 18 Aug 2019, 20:34
by Zodiac
I hate leaving tales half finished, so even though the event is finished I decided to wrap this up
After reaching several taller trees and flying over them, she dove for the woods. If this gave her enough of a break or not she could not say, but the pain in her wing was growing. She hooked slightly north to put more distance between her and the open areas. Her coloration would work against her unless she found deep cover.
Once she felt safe, she landed and focused on healing herself. Sighing as the pain faded away, her eyes continued to watch her new admirers. She was not sure how successful they thought they would be trying to hunt an owl at night, but it was apparent they were determined. She flew deeper into the woods and landed behind a sizeable tree as she willed herself back to normal. She paused long enough to gather up the stray feathers that remained of her other form, pocketed them, then hid in shadows. She was totally a ghost now, drifting just above the ground. As long as she avoided stray branches and the underbrush, they would not find her.
The mystic did not hate them because they dared to attack her. She was probably the loudest supporter of the living having the right to defend themselves, but this was not a matter of defense in play now. It was sport. She had been hunted before, in life and like this. She hated it then, and she certainly did not enjoy it now.
Despite her first impulse to simply escape, an example had to be made.
She watched as the people began to spread out into the woods. Beams of light shining up into the branches as they crept along. They were ignored. It was their so-called leader that held her interest. He was bringing up the rear of the group. One might have considered this cowardice on his part at first sight, but her ears caught his words. He was directing his troops. How the people were spreading out suggested this one understood a hunt like this. He also kept checking the rear. Guarding their backs. A purpose.
She waited till the man passed and fell in behind him. When he turned to check their flank, his attention was in the trees and not what was directly in front of him. When she had judged the distance between him and his people was right, she moved. What surprised him more, she had to wonder. The radio suddenly yanked free from his hand by nothing and being tossed from his reach, or the blue eyes that appeared as a shadow unfolded and spun about bringing the edge of a strait razor across his throat in a move that some might have found graceful.
She caught his shoulders and guided him to the ground. Kicking away the gun from his hand as he began to try and fight for his life but that struggle was already lost as every beat of his heart sent more of his blood splashing against his attackers chest. His vision filled with blue eyes that judged him the way he would have judged a bug he was about to step on.
Zodiac watched him until she heard his heart give up the fight. Her mouth was open and her fangs exposed. She was hungry after being shot but she wanted no part of this one within her. A few more seconds until she saw the inner light fade from his eyes and then she moved. His weapon and the radio was claimed and as his troops moved North into the woods, she drifted to the South-East towards home. The urge to pick them all off was strong in her, but she ignored it. She had discovered enough for now.
[sabotage_admin][/sabotage_admin]